Modelling of III-V semiconductor materials and nanostructures has been a very active field in the last 15 years. The rapid development in the material synthesis of low dimensional structures for optical applications has triggered a world wide interest for modelling methods capable of accurately describing systems comprising millions of atoms. With the development of empirical or semiempirical methods, together with the ever increasing computational power available to scientists, it is now possible to model e.g. quantum dots inside simulation boxes comprising 3 million atoms. In this talk we will review the most recent developments in the field of empirical atomistic methods, particularly the bond order potentials, and discuss its links and reliance on ab initio calculations. The links between these methods and modeling of segregation effect will also be discussed
